First Sunset
by Elise Marie
Summary: The war's over, but the pain is still there and for Ron and Hermione things haven't gone as they had expected. They both need to start moving forward and making decisions about their futures whilst trying to find out what normal is now. 10th "First".


**Title: **First Sunset

**Book: **Post Deathly Hallows, pre Epilogue.

**Spoilers: **All the way up to, but not including, the Epilogue of Deathly Hallows.

**Warnings: **Angst concerning the past battles.

**Rating: **T/PG-13. Slight adult-ish theme.

**Category: **Definitely in the romance game here, with a side order of angst.

**Summary: **The war's over, but the pain is still there and for Ron and Hermione things haven't gone as they had expected. They both need to start moving forward and making decisions about their futures whilst trying to find out what _normal_ is now.

**Disclaimer: All characters and the universe they exist in belong to J.K Rowling and her publishers. This piece of fan-fiction was created solely for entertainment purposes and no money was exchanged. No copyright infringement was intended and the original characters, situations and plots are property of the author. This piece of fan-fiction must not be archived without the author's consent.**

**Author's Notes: **This was a late addition to my "First" series, but one that fits quite nicely. It's the 10th "First", but the others don't need to be read. "First Sunrise" is a prerequisite, but none of the others are even mentioned. I'm also describing Ron and Hermione's first two kisses as one (during the battle) because they were so close together. I'd class it as only the one kiss! This is also the final first… for now!

X X X X X

Hermione Granger was sitting on the decking of the Burrow's porch, watching the sun setting over the trees in the distance. Her legs were dangling off the edge of the porch and she was leaning her head slightly to her right, against a wooden pillar. The night air was cooling, but not cold on her skin and she was not yet aware that she was only wearing a t-shirt on her upper body. Once the sun had finished setting, however, Hermione knew that the temperature would drop because it was only the middle of June. Everything had been so different and strange in the past six weeks and Hermione often wondered when anything would return to something which could be called _Normal_. She wondered what _Normal_ would be now, after all the death and fighting. Life would have to continue at some point, she knew this, but she had no idea when that would be or how it would be. At the moment there was still mourning to be done.

After the Final Battle had ended, they had found all of the bodies and all of the survivors, reuniting everyone with their families. They had all gone home and mourned their losses, both those involving death and the simple loss of their previous existences. Hermione and the rest of the Wizarding community were very grateful and happy that the war was over and that Voldemort along with the Death Eaters had been vanquished, but it did not mean that life for everyone returned to what it had been before. Hermione knew that even if she had not lost people as close to her as Fred, Lupin and Tonks had been, her life had been irrevocably changed by the months spent searching for the Horcruxes with Harry and Ron. All of the funerals had been held along with the trials of those Death Eaters that had survived. The Magical world had thankfully not remained in a state of upheaval for too long. There were still things that needed work on, things that could not be put right in such a short space of time, but there was a new Minister of Magic and Kingsley was excellent at it all ready.

Hermione knew that at some point things would change and that at some point people would cease crying all of the time. In some ways she feared that day because she feared forgetting them, yet she knew that the fear was unfounded. Something would have to happen to make things normal again, the new unknown normal, anyway and Hermione believed that that day would come in September when she returned to Hogwarts for her final year. She had not yet told Ron of her plans, but then they had not discussed much of anything for weeks upon weeks now. They had still not mentioned that first kiss which had happened in the heat of battle.

She glanced up at a noise approaching her from behind and saw Ron closing the front door to the Burrow behind him and approaching her. She smiled at him and he smiled back, sitting down next to her. Ron passed her a cardigan which she placed on her lap, smiling at him again for caring about her and knowing that she would require it soon.

Ron Weasley sat down next to Hermione and after passing her a cardigan, he allowed his hand to rest close to hers on the decking of the porch. He had watched her leave the living room a few minutes ago and knew that she was outside watching the sunset. She had told him that she liked to watch it because as the sun set for them, it had risen for her parents. That was when they were still charmed into believing they were not the Grangers and had moved to Australia. She still maintained that it was her parents which caused her to watch the sunset, however Ron knew differently. Ron knew that she watched the sunset because it reaffirmed to her that despite all of the heartache and all of the change, some things were still normal. No matter who had died or how they had been affected by Horcruxes, death, torture and life the sun would always rise and set. Every single day during the War, the sun had risen and set and now every day since and every day which would occur, the sun would rise and set. There would never be a reason for it to not happen and Ron knew that Hermione was clinging to that thought of _Normal_ because of her fear of what was to come.

Things had been very different upon their return to the Burrow. The minute that the Weasley family plus Harry Potter and Hermione had stepped back into the Burrow, Molly Weasley had barely let anyone out of her sight. George had gone straight to Percy's room and closed the door. No one had questioned him or tried to share or enter George and Fred's bedroom. No one had spoken about it to George or amongst themselves. Everyone knew the state of play. Percy and Charlie had slept in the living room, taking it in turns on the sofa and floor until Bill's room had become available. Bill and Fleur had left to visit her family in France two weeks ago, much to Molly's sadness, but there was little that she could do seeing as Fleur's parents wanted to see them. As for the four youngest, their sleeping arrangements had been and still were different to every other time Harry and Hermione had visited, but neither Molly nor Arthur had batted an eyelid. Hermione had been sharing Ron's room whilst Harry had been sleeping in Ginny's.

Ron occasionally thought that a few months ago he would have had something to say about his little sister sharing her bed with a boy, but the world was different now. He had no idea if the couple had moved up a level in intimacy because that no longer mattered and if they were anything like Ron and Hermione, there was no funny business going on. Ron and Hermione had not even discussed their first kiss let alone been able to have a second one and neither of them minded. Ron feared that talking about their relationship could cause it to come crashing down around them, or send them spiralling into a normality for which neither were ready. There were a lot of things to consider and he tried his hardest not to, trying to focus on the pain that everyone felt and how to make it better.

Every night in the Weasley Burrow, sobs could be heard on every floor, coming from most of the bedrooms. This time the men of the Weasley tribe and Harry were not immune from the tears. Ron especially hated it when he could distinguish the cries of George or Percy from the combined cries of the rest. George was and always would be hurting the most, everyone knew that, but Ron hated it when he heard his elder brother crying with no shame. Percy seemed to be taking Fred's death worse than the other brothers and Ron presumed it was because of his absence over recent years. Harry had mentioned to Ron that it had been Fred who had held out a hand to welcome and forgive Percy. It was also, of course, Percy that had been with them when Fred had died. Ron had no idea how to help either brother and it pained him to be so helpless. Without a doubt though, the sobs that could always be heard loudest at night time were those of their mother. Ron knew that his father would hold her when she cried, trying in vain to calm her and never managing it. He knew this because every night he and Hermione would get ready for bed and climb into his single bed in pyjamas and then Hermione's crying would start. Ron would hold her tightly as her loud sobs intermingled with his own silent tears.

The house would gradually become silent and all within its walls would fall asleep. Until Hermione's screams came a few hours later. Ron knew that everyone in the Burrow was woken by them every single night, but there was nothing either of them could do about it and no one had ever complained. His only action would be to hold her again, stroking her and whispering comforting words, reminding her that Bellatrix was gone and that no one would ever hurt her again. She would eventually drift back off to sleep, leaving Ron awake as he had to battle his own fears regarding her torture and pain. Everyone's tears and screams were lessening, but Ron feared they would always be there to some degree, that whatever _Normal_ became, tears would be a part of it.

Ron knew that things would have to start changing soon though, he knew that. Things had to, especially seeing as George had mentioned that he wanted to return to his shop and the flat above it. He was just waiting for their mum to be okay with it. And once Molly was okay with it, Ron knew what he had to do, but first he had to tell Hermione his plans. He took her hand in his and she shifted to lean against his right shoulder. He gently placed his cheek on top of her head.

"I'm going to go with George when he heads back to Diagon Alley," he said simply with no pausing or stumbling over words. "He might want to go back to work, but I don't think he should be alone. Not just yet." He was not justifying himself, but explaining his motivations to her even though he was sure that she knew them already.

"I think he needs that, too," she agreed. "I'm going back to Hogwarts in September. Professor McGonagall has said that everyone is allowed to repeat the year." She felt him squeeze her hand a little bit tighter as she continued. "No one had a full and proper year of education, especially with the Carrows teaching their warped philosophies."

"I guess first year will be packed, then."

"Yes, probably, but lots of things will be really weird." Not least, she thought, that she would be attending her final year in classes without Harry and with the wrong Weasley. "It isn't how I ever imagined our final year, but then at times I worried I'd never have a final year."

He kissed the top of her head, agreeing with both statements. He had known as soon as Dumbledore had died that he would not be returning for his seventh year, that his sixth year had passed as his final year without him knowing. He had known ever since that moment that he would never return to Hogwarts as a student. "Do you know what else I never imagined to be how it was?" he asked.

"No, what?" she asked in reply.

"Our first kiss wasn't how I'd ever imagined it. Or our first 'I love you'."

Hermione wrapped her arms around Ron's right arm, hugging it to her body. She nodded against his arm. "I never thought those things would happen how they did."

The sun was still slowly setting, casting a reddish orange glow over the world in front of them.

"Our first kiss was passionate, based on that moment and driven by adrenalin. Not how I had ever pictured it in my head," he whispered into her hair.

"I know," she murmured. "Although technically your first 'I love you' wasn't the night after the battle as you held me in bed. It was during the sixth year after I helped correct your essay." She smiled against his arm and felt him chuckle beside her.

"I really am sorry for that whole Lavender thing."

"Me, too."

They had never discussed his relationship with Lavender; it had never needed to be discussed.

"Before the battle, though," he whispered, "I already knew I loved you. I don't know when it happened, but I realised last year when I watched the sun rise with you for that Lady's sock thing."

"Lady's slipper, Ron," she laughed.

"Whatever," he joked. "When you were crouched there watching the flower, all I could see was the morning sun on your face and I realised how beautiful you were and how much I loved you." He freed his arm from her hug and stood up on the ground the other side of the porch, moving to stand directly in front of her. "It was kind of like how the light's on you now. That was when I knew and when I wanted to kiss you."

They rested their foreheads together and joined hands.

"It feels like a lifetime ago," she commented.

"Yet it's only a year."

"So," she questioned him with a grin on her face, "how would you have done our first kiss?"

"Don't get me wrong," he objected, "I loved our first kiss and the fact that you did it, but I always thought it would be different because it was us. I figured it'd be slower, longer and more romantic."

"I've never been kissed like that before," she whispered.

"I've never kissed like that before," he whispered back.

He released her left hand from his right and moved it up to gently stroke her cheek. The colour from the sinking sun was slowly fading from her face and he noticed that she shivered very slightly. He moved his head very slightly and she copied him, each bringing their lips into the middle where they met in the slowest, deepest kiss either of them had ever experienced. The sun vanished behind the horizon of trees, taking with it all the natural light in the world and ending the day. Ron pulled away very slightly from Hermione and kissed her on her nose before moving away. He walked up the few steps back onto the porch and took her hand to help her up and together they went into the Burrow and to their bedroom.

That night there were no tears from their bedroom, but just as sure as the sun would rise in the morning, her nightmares still happened. Some things were already normal.

X X X X X

The End


End file.
